Doctor Who: Truth May Vary
by Keira Anne
Summary: Elizabeth has struggled all her life, but now things have gotten better. She has a steady job, a good home, a someone to share her life with. There's something different about John, and while Elizabeth has always sensed this she's been more than willing to brush it under the rug, until now. Eleventh Doctor/OC


**Chapter 1: Fifteen Minutes and Five Years**

The words form so easily on his tongue and the lies fall just as easily from his lips. "I'll just be fifteen minutes, don't worry."

That's what he promises every time and she hates it. His smile is honest but his eyes can't lie the way his words do. She doesn't understand how she knows or what it is he's not telling her, but she knows he's lying. She doesn't want him to leave but she knows she can't force him to stay.

From the second he leaves she watches the clock patiently, not able to bring herself to do anything but. Fourteen times the minute hand rounds the surface of the clock and as it approaches the fifteenth her chest tightens as the fear of the unknown starts to grip at her heart.

But time after time, as soon as the fifteen minutes have passed, the door opens and he strolls back in with a large grin on his face - as if he had been standing outside waiting for the exact moment to enter. "See? Fifteen minutes, just like I said."

She runs up to him and wraps her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. "Still too long," she sniffles as he holds her. Deep down she can't help but smile and feel stupid for ever doubting him. After all, he came back, he always does.

But all the happiness in the world can't stop her checking him over, looking for the small changes in his appearance as they embrace. The colors of that silly tweed jacket of his are faded more so than when he left and the small jam stain from breakfast that morning mysteriously disappeared from the collar of his shirt.

And his eyes…

His eyes are no longer the vibrant green as before but instead look gray and tired. He looked the same, but older, and that's something that worried her to no end.

"John?" she asks hesitantly, pulling away from him and nervously biting her lip. "Are you sure there isn't something you want to tell me?"

There's a moment of pure silence and John's entire being seems to freeze in the spot he stood. Or maybe it's just her imagination. "Of course not, Elizabeth," he answers confidently looking at her. "We promised no secrets, remember?"

Reluctantly, she nods and smiles, not entirely accepting his response, but not willing to argue it further. "How about we go out for an early dinner?"

"That sounds wonderful," he smiles.

She moves back to him and the two share a soft kiss.

xxx

Five years, not a considerably long time for a Human, and for a Time Lord even less, but it was a start for the Doctor.

Five years since he had seen her, since he touched her, since he had consciously thought of going back to her. Of course every now and again he would unwittingly think of her, of all the pain she would feel when he never came back for her like he promised.

He couldn't even bare to tell her the truth, to tell her he was leaving. So he would instead make up an excuse to get out of the flat. An errand run, a walk around the block to clear his mind, anything just to get him away.

That should have been the hard part, but it wasn't. The hard part was staying away for long periods. Eventually guilt and worry would get the best of him and he'd go back. That was advantage and the curse of having a time machine, he could always go back. A hundred years could pass and he would still be able to show up on her doorstep exactly when he said he would. That was what made him come back time and time again, the fact that he could never really break the promise.

How did he get himself into this situation, it all started such a long time ago it was hard to remember. It should have ended as soon as it began, but he allowed it to grow and thrive and even fed it until it had become the mess he now found himself trapped in.

She was just a Human, a normal Human with nothing special about her. She never had control over the power of the time vortex, never saved the world from a madman, never saw things that normal people couldn't, and she would never be anything more than Human. Just a perfectly, wonderful Human.

Elizabeth. That was the name of the mess. Not Liz or Lizzie, not Beth or Bess or even Eliza, as she so sternly pointed out after they met. She would not settle for any nickname.

They met by pure accident, like most people do, literally walking into one another on the streets of London one sunny day. He was alone, exploring the city he knew so well, sightseeing in places he had already seen a hundred times before in just as many time periods. After it happened they bought each other tea as an apology and went their separate ways. But then it happened again, and then again. London was no small town and while for the Doctor it had only been a few weeks, his visits had been spaced out over the course of two years. At the time he thought the universe might be trying to tell him something and after bumping into each other for the fourth time he considered the idea of inviting her to come with him. Everything is suppose to happen for a reason, or so the saying goes.

But he didn't ask her to come with him, he did something even more dangerous, he asked to see her again. A mistake he made to entertain a random urge, a dangerous thing indeed.

And so he would visit her while Amy and Rory slept. They, like all Humans, slept far too much for his liking. Elizabeth provided a welcomed change from being alone for a 1/3 of his time and in time they grew very close.

They didn't go on any grand adventures, they didn't thwart bad guys or save alien races; they went out for a drink or dinner or went for a walk. He tried his hardest to act Human, to emulate the habits and traits he was so fond of. But as Amy and Rory, and later Craig, had pointed out at one time or another, he was horrible at being Human. He'd catch himself rambling on about alien people or places, or events that hadn't happened yet, always earning him a bewildered look from Elizabeth. The look would soon disappear and be replaced with laughter and comments about how odd he was. Elizabeth was bright, not a genius, but far from a fool. Sometimes he worried she was too bright, that she could see through him, especially when he lied. It took some trial and error, but he got better at pretending to be Human. There weren't as many slip ups.

They were...dating. It was such an odd word to think of when the Doctor described his relationships with Humans. Another random urge, an impulse. When they met he had introduced himself as John Smith, something he didn't normally do unless it was necessary. He had established himself as a Human, why ruin that? And what was more Human than dating? A normal, Human life, so simple and yet impossible for him. The time with her, well, it was the closest he would ever have.

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**A/N: Originally posted under the name "The Humans Lie", I changed the title, did some editing, and basically doubled the length. I deleted the original because I was going to re-post the entire story as just one part, but I started to get unsure of my writing so I'll post in parts so then can be critique separately.**

**Technically classified as an AU story, but I've tried to write it in such a way that it could actually meld into the official universe without much stretch of the imagination.**

**Tried my best to clear up and fix any spelling and grammar mistakes, but I'm no professional and very much Human, so it's not perfect.**

**Reviews are always welcomed and desired. So if you want me to continue, please tell me, or this story will be left where it is.**

**Doctor Who and its characters are copyright of the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC).**

**Everything else is copyright of Keira Anne.**


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